Kids Hospitalized Longer If Parents Not Fluent

By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today
Published: May 02, 2011
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and
Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner

When parents don't speak English well, their children may have longer inpatient stays if they need to be hospitalized, researchers reported.

In a nine-year retrospective study, sick children with parents whose English proficiency was limited spent 60% longer in hospital than those whose parents spoke fluently, according to Michael Levas, MD, and colleagues from Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Mo.

They may also be less likely to benefit from home healthcare, Levas and colleagues reported Action Points
Note this retrospective study suggests that the length of stay of pediatric inpatients admitted with infections requiring prolonged antibiotic therapy was significantly prolonged when parents or caregivers had limited English proficiency.

Note also that patients who had primary caregivers with limited English proficiency were significantly less likely to receive a home healthcare referral, a disparity that may imply reduced quality of care for these patients.
online in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Action Points
Note this retrospective study suggests that the length of stay of pediatric inpatients admitted with infections requiring prolonged antibiotic therapy was significantly prolonged when parents or caregivers had limited English proficiency.

Note also that patients who had primary caregivers with limited English proficiency were significantly less likely to receive a home healthcare referral, a disparity that may imply reduced quality of care for these patients.

The issue is important, the researchers noted, because a substantial fraction of American residents has limited English proficiency. FULL STORY